What is Claude? The complete guide
Claude is an AI assistant and family of large language models made by Anthropic. You can use it through the Claude apps on web, desktop and mobile, through Claude Code for software work, or through the Claude API inside other products. The current models are Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5, released in September and October 2026. Key features include Projects, Artifacts, Claude Design, connectors to other apps and web search.
What is Claude?
Claude is a general-purpose AI assistant built on Anthropic’s large language models. It can write and edit, summarise and analyse documents, reason through problems, write and review code, create files and small apps, and, with permission, work with other tools you use. Anthropic, an AI safety and research company, first released Claude in March 2023.
Which Claude models are available?
| Model | Best for | API price (input / output per million tokens) |
|---|---|---|
| Opus 5.5 | The hardest reasoning, coding and agent work | $4 / $20 |
| Sonnet 5.5 | Everyday writing, analysis and coding | $2 / $10 |
| Haiku 5.5 | Fast, high-volume tasks | from $0.10 / $0.50 |
Prices are from the Claude model documentation. Anthropic also offers higher-tier models for specialist use. Our guide to Opus vs Sonnet vs Haiku explains how to choose.
What plans does Claude offer?
| Plan | Who it suits |
|---|---|
| Free | Trying Claude with usage limits |
| Pro (about $20/month) | Individuals using Claude regularly |
| Max (from about $100/month) | Heavy users, including Claude Code |
| Team | Small and mid-sized teams with admin controls |
| Enterprise | Larger organisations needing security and scale |
Check Anthropic’s pricing page for current limits and features on each plan.
What are Claude’s main features?
- Projects: Workspaces with shared files and instructions.
- Artifacts: Documents, code and interactive apps created in a side panel.
- Claude Design: Prototypes, decks and one-pagers from prompts.
- Connectors: Links to apps such as Google Drive, Slack and Notion.
- Skills: Reusable instructions and resources Claude loads for specific tasks.
- Claude Code: An agent for software development in the terminal, IDE and web.
Each has its own guide: Projects, Artifacts, Claude Design, connectors, Skills and Claude Code.
What do businesses use Claude for?
- Drafting and editing proposals, reports and emails
- Summarising long documents, contracts and research
- Analysing spreadsheets and data files
- Writing, reviewing and refactoring code
- Building internal tools and prototypes without code
- Answering questions from company documents through Projects and connectors
How does Claude compare with ChatGPT and Gemini?
Our full comparison of ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini covers the differences in detail.
Is Claude safe for business data?
Anthropic’s commercial plans (Team, Enterprise and the API) state that customer data is not used to train models by default, and they add admin controls and data retention settings. Check the current terms for the plan you use, and set an internal policy on what staff may share with any AI tool.
How do you get started?
- Sign up: Create an account on claude.ai or download the desktop or mobile app.
- Try real tasks: Summarise a document, draft an email, analyse a spreadsheet.
- Create a Project: Add your key files and instructions for repeat work.
- Connect your apps: Add connectors for the tools you use most.
- Upgrade if needed: Move to Pro or Team when you hit usage limits or need collaboration.
How do you get better results from Claude?
- Give context: who you are, the audience and the goal
- Attach the source material rather than describing it
- Ask for a specific format, such as a table, a one-page brief or bullet points
- Break big jobs into steps and review each one
- Use Projects so instructions and files carry over between chats
- Ask Claude to check its own work against your criteria
What are Claude’s limits?
Like all AI assistants, Claude can make mistakes, misread a document or state something incorrect with confidence. It does not know about events after its training data unless it searches the web, and usage limits apply on every plan. For important work, check facts and figures against the source, keep a person responsible for the final output, and avoid sharing information your organisation’s policy does not allow.
How should a team roll out Claude?
- Agree a usage policy: What data can be shared, which plans to use and who approves new uses.
- Start with a pilot group: Five to ten people from different teams.
- Set up shared Projects: For common work such as proposals, reports and support replies.
- Collect examples: Share prompts and outputs that worked well.
- Review after a month: Decide on wider rollout based on time saved and quality.
Used well, Claude becomes a dependable colleague for drafting, analysis and building, with people keeping responsibility for decisions.
Claude also works where your team already is: in Chrome, in Slack through Claude Tag and inside Word, Excel and Outlook. Developers can start with our Claude API guide, and our guide to Fable and Mythos explains the top-tier models. For the numbers behind Claude’s rise, see what the growth data shows.
Not sure Claude is the right fit? Compare it with the best ChatGPT alternatives.
How UIUX Studio helps
We help teams adopt Claude well, from usage policies and Projects to custom agents built on the Claude API. Talk to our Agentic AI & Automation team.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Claude?
Anthropic, an AI safety and research company.
Is Claude free?
There is a free plan with usage limits; paid plans add more usage and features.
What is the latest Claude model?
Opus 5.5, Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5, released in September and October 2026.
Can Claude browse the web?
Yes, Claude can search the web when that feature is enabled.
Does Claude train on my data?
Commercial plans state that customer data is not used for training by default; check your plan’s terms.